House sharing - how much should each person pay?

Question

In a 2 double bedroom house with a couple and a single person sharing, should the rent be split 3 ways or should the single person be paying more cos he/she is getting a big room to him/herself and the couple is basically 2 people for one room? So say the monthly rent is 750, split 3 ways its 250 each, so basically the single is paying 250 a month and the couple 500 a month.

Answer 1

Usually, in a shared house, everyone pays equal amounts (and everyone puts down equal deposits and everyone is equally liable for any damage etc).

This DOES often lead to arguments over rooms, especially if one room is significantly bigger (or smaller) than the others ..

This is usually solved on the principle of 'first in, first choice' and 'last one in gets the worse room' ...
.. having said that, one group of my mates had to offer the best room to attract a new share when the guy with the worse room moved out :- )

Answer 2

I'd say split the rent by the square footage of the rooms.

Say the double bedroom is double the size of the single bedroom, then the rent should be split 3 ways with the double bedroom's rent costing twice as much as the single.

Similarly, if the double bedroom is just 50% larger than the single, then the rent should be split 60% of the total rent for the double room and 40% for the single.

How the couple split their room's rent between themselves is up to them.

Answer 3

The rent and services cover the whole house , so it seems fair to me that you split everything three ways
There may be a case for the couple to have the largest bedroom but everything else should be split in to three.
After all if you put in a kitty for food , and general house products there would seem no argument for anything but a 3 way split.

Answer 4

I would say split the rent 3 ways, as what would happen if say the single person became part of a couple? Each person should pay the same amount as they each get the benefit of the services, regardless of whether they share their bed with someone

Answer 5

Whoever has the master bedroom should pay more - it's larger and usually has a nicer closet and a private bath.
It's not the single person's fault the couple is shacking up, why should they pay MORE rent?
If the rooms are the same size, then you split it 3 ways.

Answer 6

I would say yes with the 3 way. Or depending on how good of friends you are split it down the middle for 365 for you and 365 for them. Also do you guys split the phone, light , gas bills? If so maybe I would then say to them 250 for rent and the 115 is for the other bills.

Answer 7

I think the utilites should be split that way, but the rent should be split according to the square footage of the bedrooms they are getting. In all fairness, they arent each getting their own room and they arent taking up any more room in the house. But utility wise that should be split 2 ways. Good luck!

Answer 8

The utilities should be divided 4 ways. There is no truly fair way to divide up the rent. Divide it up 4 ways and the bf/gf will complain that they are paying 1/2 the rent but using 1/3 of the rooms. Divide it up 3 ways the bf/gf will be happy BUT the other people will complain that the bf/gf are getting a discount. I would suggest discussing how to best divide up the rent with the other people in the apartment. Write up an agreement based on that discussion and have everyone sign it. Get it notarized and make copies for everyone. In the event of a disagreement in the future you'll have legal proof if one of your roommates should take you to court.

Answer 9

You got problems if you can't agree on how to split the rent because sharing groceries are a test of human fairness.

Answer 10

there are 2 double bedrooms and the couple obviously share one of them.The rest of the house is shared by all so it is quite simple.You all pay one third of everything and keep the catering to yourselves.If you find someone who wants to share your bedroom then you all pay a quarter and there is no problem.Good luck.